The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for providing conferencing capabilities that bridge virtual world and real world meeting places.
There has been a surge in the popularity of three-dimensional (3D) virtual world environments, especially in the area of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. A virtual world environment is a world that exists entirely within the digital virtual space of one or more computing devices and which includes virtual objects, characters, scenery, and other virtual world elements that may be rendered by graphics engines on the computing devices such that a user in the real world may manipulate at least some of the virtual elements of the virtual world through user interface devices. A MMO game is an online computer or console game in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world. In many of these MMO games, players assume the role of a character and take control over most of that character's actions. The virtual world in which these characters are represented as avatars may take many different forms including a fantasy setting, a science fiction universe, or the old west, for example. With the rising acceptance of personal computers, as well as increased graphical capabilities of personal computers and video game consoles, MMO games have become wildly popular around the world. In fact, part of the draw of MMO games is that players from any continent may be online at any given time and may interact with players from other continents or other countries.
Other vehicles for social interaction on the Internet have also become popular, such as chat rooms, message boards, instant messaging clients, Web logs (blogs), photo blogs, and the like. The idea of virtual world environments has expanded beyond MMO games. Popular virtual world environments today provide a manner in which users can interact in a “virtual world” that is not necessarily very different from the “real world.” Users may create an avatar that represents them in the virtual world and which may be used to interact with objects, other avatars, and other virtual world elements at the behest of the user. Users may then create an apartment, buy clothing, decorate their apartments, meet with other users, trade items, create items, etc., all within the virtual world.
Virtual world environments and MMO game environments are morphing into corporate collaboration tools, i.e. virtual conferencing. Users of these technologies find these virtual conferencing mechanisms within virtual world environments extremely engaging which allows for more focused meetings online. With such virtual conferencing, the users have a more positive experience than traditional telephone conferencing because they are able to view representations of the other participants, i.e. avatars of the other participants, and use their own avatars to interact with the avatars of the other participants while conducting the virtual conference.
One of the main issues with virtual world and MMO game technology is the need to be present at the meeting in a virtual world in order to participate. That is, in order for users to participate in a virtual conference in a virtual world, the users' avatars typically must be present at a same location within the virtual world and must enable communication between the avatars. This requires that all participants in the virtual conference have access to the virtual world environment, have a virtual world environment representation of themselves, i.e. an avatar, the users must be physically present at their client computers with appropriate hardware available, e.g., speakers, headset, microphone, etc., and must be running the client application for the virtual world environment. Thus, the users that can participate in a virtual world conference are limited by such requirements.